Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital SMART Edition of The Times-Tribune on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at thetimes-tribune.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device, read the Smart Edition sign up for daily newsletters, activate your all access, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

About 500 plush dogs and cats are spread out with help from Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Corey Cavalieri on Thursday at the Aaron Center in Dickson City, with more stuffed animals to be donated in the next few weeks.
(read more)

On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph P. McDonald manned the switchboard at Fort Shafter in Hawaii when he received the alarming message that radar had detected a large number of planes approaching from the north, heading fast for Oahu.
(read more)

While it found no major problems, an audit of Scranton's finances in 2011 identified a few deficiencies in internal controls over financial reporting that city officials said they will work to correct.

The audit completed Thursday by Robert Rossi & Co. of Olyphant found no "material weaknesses," which are the most serious kind of deficiencies that could lead to a misstating of financial information. However, less serious deficiencies that were found included:

- Payment of bills is processed by only one employee responsible for matching invoices to purchase orders, entering invoices into the general ledger, using a signature machine to sign checks and mailing checks. These duties instead should be split among more than one employee to avoid the possibility of errors and omissions, states the audit, although it did not find that any such errors occurred.

- The collection of delinquent taxes and trash fees was not updated on a timely basis, and a lack of staffing in the treasurer's office delayed lien searches and the sending out of statements. The city needs to establish appropriate, regular reconciliation processes with the firm that collects the delinquencies, the audit said.

- Replacing a three-part receipt book with a two-part receipt book resulted in the head cashier not receiving one of the receipts. This and having several people working in the position of head cashier because of employee illnesses hampered the daily balancing of receipts, and errors were not corrected before an armored-car service picked up deposits. The city should return to a three-part receipt book, the audit advises.

- A homebuyer received more assistance from the city than he or she was entitled to under federal Department of Housing and Urban Development programs and rules. The first assistance was an unspecified down payment and closing costs through the Homebuyer Program, and the second assistance was $11,075 for rehabilitation through the Housing Rehabilitation program. Because the latter may not be used for a project that was previously assisted within a certain time frame, the city should reimburse the rehabilitation program for the questionable $11,075 cost, the audit said.

In a formal response in the audit, city Business Administrator Ryan McGowan said the city agrees with the findings and will take steps to correct the problems. In an interview, Mr. McGowan said of the audit, "It's free and clear of material weaknesses, which is important to us, and we're going to move on."

While the 100-page audit primarily reviewed finances and procedures for 2011, it also noted some key issues that carried over into 2012 and this year. For example, the city is still reviewing ways to plug a $2.5 million gap created by a three-judge panel's rejection last month of a commuter tax and intends to petition the court again for a commuter tax in 2014, the audit states.

It notes that the city will incur additional costs in borrowing over the next few years due to the October 2011 state Supreme Court landmark arbitration ruling in favor of the city's police and fire unions that upheld back pay and shift and apparatus staffing levels.

The 2012 budget represented "small steps" to improving the city's financial condition, through line-item cuts in personnel, salary and overtime, and tax increases. The 2012 revised recovery plan that sets a financial framework for 2013-15 represents a "first step in restoring longterm fiscal stability and repairing the city's creditworthiness."

The audit was supposed to have been due by May 31 but was more than seven months late due to the timing of when the city was able to provide information to the auditor, Mr. McGowan said. However, it was completed a month earlier than the 2010 audit, which was completed in February 2012.

The 2013 budget's restoration of two positions that had been cut from the business administration office should help with correcting deficiencies and getting the 2012 audit completed more quickly, Mr. McGowan said.

"We'll work our best to comply with the deadline," he said.

Other details in the 2011 audit include:

-âThe revised recovery plan also budgeted for large spikes in donations from nonprofits, and city leaders have begun to meet with the 10 largest nonprofits "and hope to have commitments in the near future."

-âThe city received less money in licensing and permits due to a lack of building work being completed in 2011.

-âOverall expenditures increased due to an increase in overtime, professional services, debt funding, material and supplies, and landfill and flood-protection expenses.

-âThe city hopes to bid out pharmacy and dental benefit plans to achieve savings of $2.8 million under the recovery plan.

-âDowntown residential development continues to grow. The city will see $11.3 million of private capital spent within the next 12 months to convert three vacant buildings downtown to residential apartments for students from the Commonwealth Medical College. Other young professionals have chosen to live downtown. Upon completion of these projects, the city will have more than 500 professionals/students living downtown. Three hospitals in the city also are undergoing major renovations, including a Geisinger Health System plan to spend $90 million in upgrades. Such development and improvements at hospitals and colleges, along with a low crime rate, "have allowed the city to continue to attract residential demand in the face of its budgetary challenges."

-âThe city's liability for unused vacation and sick pay was $3.1 million on Dec. 31, 2011. Vacation benefits lapse at year's end, and unused vacation may be carried over only with approval of a department head. Unused sick pay accumulates to varying maximum amounts for the various classes of city employees.

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.